Term of Award

Spring 2019

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

College of Education

Committee Chair

Teri Melton

Committee Member 1

Antonio P. Gutierrez de Blume

Committee Member 2

Steven Tolman

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the improvement, if any, of emotional intelligence scores of students who participated in and completed the specified professional development seminar. In addition, this study aimed to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence subscales of students enrolled in a professional development seminar that focuses on enhancing the emotional intelligence. The research design for this study was an ex post facto, quasi-experimental correlational quantitative research design. Data from the 371 students who enrolled in the Professional Development Seminar course during academic years 2015-2017 served as the sample for this study.

This study focused on one central research question: Is there a change in students’ emotional intelligence scores from the pre-test EQ-i 2.0 assessment administration to the post-test EQ-i 2.0 assessment administration after completing a Professional Development Seminar aimed at improving students’ emotional intelligence? The results of this research revealed that instruction that focuses specifically on the various aspects of emotional intelligence can have a significant impact on students’ emotional intelligence and can positively improve EQ-i 2.0 subscales. Out of the fifteen EQ-i 2.0 subscales, only two resulted in improvements that were not statistically significant While not statistically significant, the study results indicate that improvements did occur. On the other hand, thirteen EQ-i 2.0 subscales resulted in improvements that were significant. This study’s results provide evidence that emotional intelligence is an ability that can be improved upon if students receive specific instruction focusing on emotional intelligence.

The impact of this study is significant in that it reveals that colleges and universities can create and deliver EQ-related instruction and affect students’ emotional intelligence. After graduating, students will be better prepared to succeed in the professional environment, and employers can expect to hire college graduates who possess one of the most highly desired employment traits, emotional intelligence. This study is evidence that provides a promising outlook on these efforts.

OCLC Number

1101902999

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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